And Though They May Be Parted
by EveningInHornersCorners
Summary: It had all the ingredients to make a double batch of pure, utter disaster. Suffering and hurt seemed inevitable for all involved parties. But coincidence can serve to aid, and there is one thing that can single-handedly sustain us in the face of crisis.


"_Time is too slow for those who __wait__, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.__"_

_-Henry Van Dyke_

Colors. As far as the eye could see, there were colors. Every hue imaginable; watchet, carmine, saffron, viridian, all swirling together to create a scaly pattern, similar to that of an erratic stained glass window, perhaps one accidentally but so perfectly designed in a state of pure, ignorant drunkenness. Constantly falling head over heels only added to the shifting of the design.

Tony treasured the times spent here, transitioning to the next time period. It wasn't so much the sheer beauty of all these colors coming together in one place, as a kaleidoscopic, gargantuan sun catcher, almost; it was all bit dizzying, in fact, enough to make you sick to your stomach if you were unused to what flashed before your eyes.

But there was peace.

Granted, being haphazardly tossed about like a dishrag in a high wind wasn't his _ideal_ method of relaxation, but it sure beat the rack or first line of fire.

But alas, it always seemed that just as the tranquility was at its height, that awful feeling of sinking came and they tumbled into the next era, the same thoughts, questions ringing with violent stridence through their minds every single time.

How were they to know where their next destination would be, whether this would be the time that the last drop of luck in their reservoir evaporated, when one of them would have too close a shave and end up cut deeply or dead? The answer was simple. They couldn't.

Tony expelled a sigh and braced himself, shut his eyes, and waited for the fall to come.

###

Doug and Tony had taken quite a few falls, some soft, some hard. But this one somehow seemed to fall between those two categories; yes, it was a fairly firm surface, but some of the shock that one would normally have felt seemed to be absorbed by…was this snow?

Tony lifted his head.

"Doug?"

"Right here, Tony." The younger physicist spun around and saw his companion directly behind him; some of the snow sank with his movement.

"Careful. The last thing either of us wants is to fall through this mess. Right now this is probably a breeding ground for hypothermia." Doug said, shading his eyes. "But I think we're pretty near a house. See the red through the snow?"

"Yeah." The other replied. "I guess we should try to reach it."

"No guessing about it. Unless we want to freeze to death out here. C'mon, let's go."

Tony nodded, trying to suppress a painful wince.

Maybe this fall had been harder than he'd thought…

###

General Kirk looked to Ann. "What year do we have them pinpointed at? Where?" he demanded sharply.

The scientist just shook her head. "They're still reloc…wait." She squinted for a moment. "Year, 1950. Location, a little town called…Cragsville, Maine."

"We have a firm fix on them." Ray added, glancing up at the Tunnel. "Activate the viewing screen, Ann." She complied, and the device began to center itself.

Immediately after it was situated, a picture, almost pure white, flickered onto the screen.

###

Inching through the snow had proven to be a much more challenging and precarious art that Tony had initially calculated. It seemed whatever way they moved, they risked plunging into the depths of this seemingly isolated winter wonder—or was it more of a winter horror? —and it was beyond him how the snow had seemed so hard at first.

But how else was he to explain how he felt like he was being periodically stabbed in the abdomen?

If he tried, he reasoned, he could probably think of a great number of causes.

But, at the current time, he had to concentrate on channeling his energy into movement, so as not to worry Doug, and masking his grimaces for the same reason.

###

"Where are Doug and Tony?" Kirk demanded, drumming his fingers rapidly on the control panel.

"Patience is a virtue, General. And if you keep moving your fingers like that, you're liable to hit and activate something unwanted." Dr. Swain commented dryly, shooting a scathing glare in the other man's direction. "But, anyway, those two figures scuttling along the snow happen to be them."

"I'm sorry Ray. I'm just so… nervous for some reason." He tore his hand away from the panel and began pacing.

Dr. MacGregor sent him a sympathetic smile. "We're all that way, General. It's come too close, too many times, and we all know it."

"That doesn't make it any more acceptable for an authority figure to fly off the handle." the General replied grimly.

Suddenly, he squinted. "Ann, can you magnify the image?"

"I'll try, sir." Hunching over her controls, she methodically punched a series of buttons. "Where do you want to zero in on?"

"Tony."

Shrugging, she stabbed another button with her fingernail; the image on the screen expanded and indeed focused on the young electro-physicist, pawing his way through the snow.

"Why did you want to do that?" Ray asked, leaning on the panel as he glanced at the screen.

"Maybe I was just seeing things, but there seemed to be something…strange…about the way Tony was moving."

"Strange?" Dr. Swain repeated.

"I don't see why that should surprise you. Don't you realize all the physical torture both of them have undertaken?" Ann said placidly.

"But see the way he's clenching up every once in a while? That's hardly a way to move when the very substance supporting you could very well be knocked to smithereens if too much of that went on." Kirk replied.

"We don't know the quality of this snow." Ann countered.

"Still… Ann, go fetch Ted. I'd like him to have a look at this."

"General, this is no time to be analyzing his health and bothering Dr. Marshall, who probably has more pressing issues on his mind right now. With our fix this strong we might be able to…"

"I agree with the General, Ann. Something's not right about what he's doing. Go and get Ted. There's certainly no harm in him taking a look." Ray cut her off.

Sighing, she eked out a smile.

"You two always do gang up on me, don't you?"


End file.
